Dan's Greenhouse

Location: Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, USA
Address: 626 Front Street #4
Date: Feb 2017
Website: www.facebook.com/DansGreenHouse

  Front Street in Lahaina is filled with many shops and restaurants.  One of our favourite places to visit when on the Hawaiian island of Maui is Dan's Greenhouse.  We leave Front street and hurry up the stairs to the top floor.  The shop is filled with exotic plants, birds and usually one or two mini-pigs.

  There are Fuku bonsai trees and other plants just waiting to thrive under the Hawaiian sun.  As tourists we were not looking to take a plant home and didn't think customs would let us anyways.  We came to spend a little time with the wild animals who seem to enjoy seeing us as much as we enjoy seeing them.

 A black palm cockatoo was sitting by the window.  It looked as if he was in charge of flipping the OPEN sign at the end and start of each day.

    In the next window sat a beautiful female eclectus parrot.  These parrots have extreme sexual dimorphism.  The female is bright red and the male is bright green.  Easy to tell them apart, but people used to think they were two different species.

  In a small little pen in the middle of the store were two little piggies.  They were so cute and were wearing floral leis.  These are known as Göttingen mini-pigs and grow to be about 35 kg as adults.  The myth of the teacup pig isn't true.  Be careful if buying a pig as a pet as you don't want your little cuddly piglet to end up being a 200 kg plus porker.  These two little guys grew on us while we were visiting, but only in our hearts.

  As we headed for the door, one last bird wanted our attention.  A bare-eyed cockatoo was speaking to us.  It wasn't long before it had hopped up onto one of our shoulders to get a better look.  We spent some time talking with our new feathered friend until the store owner moved it back to its perch.  Good-bye little friends.  That includes all of you pigs, birds and even plants.  After all some positive words never hurt a plant's growth.

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Map of Our World

Dan's Green House

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Post # 282

Ethel M Chocolate Factory & Cactus Garden

Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Address: 2 Cactus Garden Dr.
Date: March 2020
Website: www.ethelm.com

    Franklin Mars started the Mars Candy Factory in 1911 with his wife Ethel.  Today Mars makes Snickers, Twix, Mars bars and more.  Ethel is the Ethel M from a popular chocolate factory near Las Vegas, Nevada.

    While in Vegas you can take a short drive to see Ethel M chocolate being made in the factory.  It is made in small batches with no preservatives.

  The tour starts with a taste of some chocolate.  So far so good.  You then wander past the machines where the chocolate is prepared.  Next it is more machines that fill multiple molds and create patterns on top of the chocolates and then put them into cases and boxes.

  The end result is something like the giant chocolate wall at the end of the tour.  Thanks to all the different shapes and patterns you can identify which pieces to eat first when sampling from a box.

  After our tour we enjoyed a chocolate cappucino and some chocolate dipped strawberries. Very nice.

  Next it was outside to take a tour of the cactus garden located just behind the factory.  A little desert after dessert.

  If you still feel like food, there was purple pancake cactus on display.  We don't think they were very edible.

  There was a couple of Joshua Trees.

As well as a nice view of the mountains.

  There was also wildlife to be found in amongst the cactus.  Above is a male Costa's Hummingbird that is known for its purplish head if caught in the right light.  Its head feathers also sort of flare out on the sides.  It was sitting surprisingly still for a hummingbird.

  A small white, grey bird with a yellow head was all over the place.  We managed one good photo of it as it moved from branch to branch faster than we could get it into focus.  These birds are fairly common in Nevada and are known as Verdin.

  We enjoyed our visit to Ethel M.  A great chocolatier knows that chocolate and cactus work well together late in the afternoon.

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Map of Our World
Ethel M Cactus Garden
Ethel M Chocolate Factory

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Post # 280

Valentine's Day List

1. Roses at the Ice Hotel
2. LoveBot
3. Teuscher Valentine Truffles
4. Luzon Bleeding Heart Dove
5. I Heart ...
6. Heart's Content
7. Distillery Heart
8. Blue Whale Heart
9. Lovebirds
10. LOVE on the High Line

This is a list of things from our travels that remind us of Valentine's Day.  Love is in the air and maybe you will get an idea of what to get or do for your special someone this February 14th.

1 ) Roses at the Ice Hotel

Roses are a nice touch on Valentine's Day, but why not a wall of roses carved out of ice and lit up above your own private bed.  Sure it's below zero celcius in the room but the Hotel de Glace is a beautiful place.

2)  LoveBot

Around Toronto we have encountered LoveBot.  We have spotted him in several graffiti filled alleys.  He is just a little expressionless robot but he is filled with love.

3)  Teuscher Valentine Truffles

When it comes to cute truffle boxes, Teuscher is the best.  This Valentine's couple is a great gift for anyone who likes cute and chocolate.

4)  Luzon Bleeding Heart Dove

A Luzon Bleeding Heart Dove looks as if it has been stabbed in the chest. Don't worry it is alright. What looks like a wound is just part of its plumage used to attract a mate.

5)  I Heart...

As campaigns go, the I Love New York campaign has been very successful. The word love has been replaced by a heart.

 We also encountered the I Love Regina sign when we were in the capital city of Saskatchewan. You would probably have a hard time finding someone called New York, but if you know someone called Regina then this is where you should take them on Feb 14th.

6)  Heart's Content

To do something to your heart's content is to do it until you are completely satisfied.  It is also a small town in Newfoundland.  Perhaps your heart will be content in Heart's Content.

7)  Distillery Heart

As you enter Toronto's historic Distillery District you will see a heart that has sunk into the brick walkway.  A very popular spot to take photos with the one you love.  In fact, try as we might, we still couldn't take a photo without at least one person being inside the heart.

8)  Blue Whale Heart

The blue whale has the biggest heart of any living creature on earth.  We have a great love for blue whales.  Imagine one of these hearts filled with love.

9)  Lovebirds

Some more love comes in the form of lovebirds.  These three birds are Lutino Peach Faced Lovebirds at Bird Kingdom in Niagara Falls.  Lutino means they are albino so they have different colouring.  Being albino has absolutely no affect on their capacity to love.

10)  LOVE on the High Line

The High Line is a park created in New York City from old elevated train lines.  On one of our visits we found LOVE.  We hope that everyone finds love this Valentine's Day.

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Map of Our World

Toronto Zoo , Bird Kingdom
 Royal Ontario Museum , Heart's Content Cable Station , Hotel de Glace
Teuscher Toronto
The High Line , Distillery Heart , Regina City Hall , Laguardia Airport

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Post # 277

Make Way For Ducklings

Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Address: 4 Charles Street
Date: Sept 2013
Website: friendsofthepublicgarden.org

  Mr. & Mrs. Mallard are looking for a nice place in Boston to start a family.  While they are searching for the perfect place Mrs. Mallard hatches 8 little ducklings.  Mr. Mallard looks for a new home and arranges to meet Mrs. Mallard in Boston Public Garden.  Mrs. Mallard has to lead her ducklings from the Charles River through traffic and other obstacles.  Fortunately, the police help out so that everyone will make way for ducklings.

  Make Way for Ducklings is a best selling children's book written by Robert McCloskey back in 1941. In 1987 the bronze sculpture arrived in Boston Public Garden and has become almost as popular as the book.

  The sculpture shows Mrs. Mallard leading her children towards the pond that they will eventually call home. Her children are called Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack, and Quack.

  In 1634 Boston Common was created as America’s first public park and Boston Public Garden was the first public botanical garden in America opening in 1837.

  A large number of ducks call the garden home so every spring there is a new group of ducklings following their mothers around on a new adventure.  The rest of the year Mrs. Mallard will always be there to the delight of visiting children. 

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Map of Our World
Make Way For Ducklings

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Post # 273

Happy Days House

Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
Address:  565 N Cahuenga Blvd.
Date: June 2019
Website:  www.paramountstudiotour.com

  Happy Days the popular television show ran for about 10 years after first airing in 1974.  It followed the life of Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard) and his friend The Fonz (Henry Winkler).  The show was filmed at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles so it is not surprising that when they were looking for a home to stand in as the Cunningham residence they found one just a few streets over from the studio.

  Happy Days was filmed on Stage 19 of the Paramount Studios lot.  In the photo above, the red trolley is just about to pass the building.

  If you take the Paramount Studios Tour, Stage 19 is located right next to the tour entrance building on Melrose Avenue.

  On North Larchmont Avenue is Cafe Gratitude. After our Paramount tour we walked here for some vegan dishes.  A few streets further west is North Cahuenga Blvd.  The Happy Days house is located at number 565. The fictional house is supposed to be located in Millwaukee, Wisconsin at 565 North Clinton Drive.  At least they got the number right.

  Unlike some homes used in television or movies, this home has not changed much in the last 40 years so it was easy to recognize. Sunday and Monday are happy days. Tuesday and Wednesday are happy days. Thursday & Friday unfortunately appear to be garbage days.

  The house was used for exterior shots during the shows run. We enjoyed our brief visit to relive some Happy Days memories with the Cunninghams and of course Fonzie living over the garage. We give it two thumbs up. "Aaaay!"

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See more locations from the Paramount Studio Backlot.

Map of Our World

Cunningham Residence
Cafe Gratitude

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Post # 269